David Glispin likes to say his service-delivery people never sleep. "Signage is usually a 23rd hour consideration," he says. And when an architect is involved, a sign becomes an architectural element. But that doesn't change the 23rd hour element.

"You need it Sunday; we'll work Saturday night," is how Glispin sums up Sunshine Sign's approach. "It's 911 service every day. We never say no."

To meet the demand for both high quality and rapid delivery, a signage company needs to have advanced manufacturing techniques, skilled craftsmen, and a continually-alert service-delivery system. Glispin, the founder, president and CEO of Sunshine Sign, says his management team, particularly his business partner Mark Herbert, makes that happen. "Thanks to these guys, I have it," he says.

Sunshine Sign can create the most complex of architecturally designed signs from metal, aluminum, plastic or wood and meld them with sophisticated lighting schemes and high-tech special effects for the ultimate "wow factor." Its team of 37 might spend thousands of person-hours crafting a single custom sign for one client, or replace dozens of signs over hundreds of miles of territory in a matter of days for another.

Glispin credits business partner Mark Herbert with developing Sunshine Sign as the "museum quality" signage company of choice for many prestigious institutions throughout the continental U.S. Glispin and Herbert started the business as a side income in 1986. The then-tiny company embraced emerging graphics technology as the sign industry evolved from the hand-painted era. The company is now one of New England's largest sign companies. Glispin credits Hebert's salesmanship and service delivery for the company's growth. Today, Sunshine Sign has a separate project development and estimation division, the sole function of which is to take the theoretical concept of the architect and turn it into a reality.

While most local sign companies remain several person "cottage industries," Glispin says Sunshine Sign has the infrastructure, capabilities and reputation to bid on and win six-figure projects with regularity. Its signage contract for the new Worcester Superior Court House was a "value-added" project, which came in under budget but with no compromise in the quality of materials.

"Value engineering is giving you the same look and longevity or product in a more inexpensive way," Glispin says. An example is using specialty acrylic instead of glass. "I can flame-polish the edge, and you will not tell the difference, and we can cut the price in half," he notes.

Go to a college campus in Central Massachusetts and you'll find Sunshine Sign's work. It has replaced all exterior signage at Framingham State College and Connecticut College. Its signs grace the campuses of Worcester State College, WPI, Colby College and the new Worcester Technical High School. Corporate customers include Biogen and Intel.

Sunshine Sign's computerized design and manufacturing facilities allow it to craft signature signs from exotic metals and woods and/or do assembly line work. While it handles architect-controlled projects ranging from $20,000 to $800,000 in its corporate division, it still serves more modest clients in its small business division, handling jobs from $100 to $20,000, Glispin explains.

Glispin says the key to Sunshine Sign's success is its employees. The average age of its management team is 36 years old, he notes: "These guys are a very nimble, fast-paced organization." The company almost exclusively promotes from within. "One of the highlights of my career has been watching our management team flourish and take over the day to day operation, and do it with such zeal, enthusiasm and energy, and such commitment to the company, that now I just have to go out and sell and market," he says.

Glispin himself remains in touch with the entrepreneurial spirit that started it all. "I wake up every morning on springs, and I am absolutely delighted to go to work," he says.